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AI Sketched Graphic Showing the start of SKIMS clothing line and their use of neutral colors and comfortable wear by CANVA 

Fashion does not move in a straight line. Consumer behavior influences designers, designers influence brands, and brands respond by developing products that reflect changing cultural and market demands. For fashion executives, understanding this movement is critical because product development is no longer simply about creating what is next. It is about identifying why consumers are changing and translating those changes into commercially viable products. 

Founded in 2019 by Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede, SKIMS entered the market with shapewear and has since expanded into underwear, loungewear, clothing, swimwear, men’s apparel, and performance wear. The company describes itself as a solutions-oriented brand focused on creating innovative products for “every body.” (SKIMS) 

Its growth demonstrates a larger shift in fashion: product development increasingly begins with the consumer and moves outward into new categories. SKIMS did not simply create new products to grow its assortment. It identified changing expectations around fit, inclusivity, comfort, body image, and versatility, then used those expectations to expand what its products could be. 

Product Development Begins With the Consumer

The traditional fashion model often places the designer at the center: designers develop collections, retailers sell them, and consumers decide whether to purchase them. Contemporary fashion product development is more circular.

Consumers communicate what they want through purchasing patterns, social media, reviews, cultural conversations, and their responses to existing products. Fashion companies then use those signals to develop products that address unmet needs.

SKIMS exemplifies this consumer-driven approach.

The company originated from Kardashian’s frustration with existing shapewear and the difficulty of finding products that offered the right combination of fit, function, and appearance. The Washington Post’s reporting on SKIMS‘ development also highlights the company’s emphasis on body diversity and its expansion into products designed for a broader range of consumers. (The Washington Post)

For product development, the key point is that SKIMS did not invent shapewear. Instead, it identified an established category in which consumer expectations were changing. 

That distinction matters. 

Innovation does not always require inventing a new category. Sometimes it means redesigning an existing category around a new consumer.

Reinventing Shapewear

Bubble Graphic of Skims Evolution Timeline of Clothing by Nadia Doiron on CANVA 

Shapewear itself has continuously evolved alongside fashion.

The Fashion Times traces the category from restrictive garments such as corsets and girdles toward modern products designed around stretch, comfort, and body shaping. (The Fashion Times)

This history illustrates how closely product development follows cultural expectations.

As silhouettes changed, the products worn underneath those silhouettes had to change as well. Modern consumers may expect shapewear to be comfortable enough for extended wear, available in multiple skin tones and sizes, and compatible with different types of clothing.

SKIMS built its product strategy around those expectations.

Its current assortment includes different shapewear constructions and compression levels, allowing consumers to choose products based on desired support and intended use. (SKIMS)

This represents an important product-development principle: a single product does not necessarily satisfy an entire market.

Instead of treating shapewear as one standardized product, SKIMS developed a broader system of solutions.

For a fashion executive, that shift is significant because it creates opportunities for product segmentation. Different consumers can have different functional needs while still remaining within the same brand ecosystem.

The SKIMS “Secret Recipe”

Celebrity recognition clearly played a role in SKIMS‘ visibility, but celebrity alone does not explain the brand’s product expansion. 

The Harvard Business School case The Meteoric Rise of SKIMS, written by Ayelet Israeli, Jill Avery, and Leonard A. Schlesinger, examines SKIMS within the direct-to-consumer apparel landscape and considers the company’s brand positioning, growth, and product strategy. (Harvard Business School) 

More recent reporting from Vogue Business similarly examines what has allowed SKIMS to move beyond its original shapewear identity. The article emphasizes the company’s product-focused approach, including fit, fabric, sizing, and versatility, rather than treating marketing as the sole driver of its success. (Vogue Business) 

This distinction matters especially for product development.

A celebrity can generate awareness, but the product has to justify continued consumer engagement. 

SKIMS‘ strategy has been to develop products around a consistent set of ideas: body-conscious design, inclusive sizing, comfort, versatility, and a recognizable aesthetic. Once the company established those principles, it could apply them to additional categories. 

The result was not simply a larger product assortment. It was a larger brand ecosystem.

When One Product Category Creates Another

SKIMS‘ movement from shapewear into apparel demonstrates how successful product development can create opportunities for additional categories. 

The brand now encompasses clothing, underwear, shapewear, loungewear, swimwear, men’s products, and activewear. (SKIMS) 

The common thread is not the specific garment. It is the consumer problem the brand is attempting to solve.

How should clothing fit?

How should it feel?

How should it move with the body?

How can it transition between environments?

Those questions apply to a bodysuit, a pair of leggings, or a performance garment.

This is where product development becomes a strategic growth tool. Once a company understands a consumer well, it can transfer that knowledge into adjacent categories. 

For SKIMS, the movement from shapewear to clothing therefore makes strategic sense. The brand’s original expertise in fit and the body could be applied beyond products traditionally worn underneath clothing. 

Fashion and Sports Collide 

SKIMS‘ partnership with the NBA demonstrates another way fashion movement can create product-development opportunities.

In 2023, SKIMS became the official underwear partner of the NBA, WNBA, and USA Basketball. The Washington Post reported that the partnership followed SKIMS‘ expansion into men’s products and placed the brand within the increasingly connected worlds of sports, celebrity, and fashion. (The Washington Post) 

The significance goes beyond sponsorship.  

Sports and fashion have become increasingly interconnected. Athletic clothing is no longer restricted to athletic environments, while fashion increasingly incorporates performance-oriented materials, silhouettes, and styling.

For product developers, this creates a new consumer expectation: fashion must perform, but performance apparel must also look fashionable.

SKIMS‘ next major move demonstrates how the company responded to that opportunity.

From SKIMS to NikeSKIMS

In February 2025, Nike and SKIMS announced NikeSKIMS, a new brand combining Nike’s expertise in sport science, innovation, and athlete insights with SKIMS‘ focus on the female form, fit, and inclusive design. The partnership focused on training apparel, footwear, and accessories for women athletes. (Nike)

This is a significant example of product development because each company brings a different area of expertise.

Nike brings:

• Sport science
• Athletic performance research
• Technical innovation
• Athlete insights
• Performance apparel and footwear expertise

SKIMS brings:

• Fit and body-focused design
• Consumer understanding
• Inclusive sizing 
• Fashion-oriented aesthetics
• A strong direct relationship with its audience

The partnership therefore combines two different forms of product knowledge.

Nike’s announcement explicitly describes NikeSKIMS as merging its advanced innovation and sport-science capabilities with SKIMS‘ focus on the female form and “solutions for every body.” (Nike) 

Nike & Skims Model Showing off their clothing line 

This is not simply a celebrity collaboration.

It is product development through complementary expertise.

The 2026 Strategy: Performance Meets Lifestyle

The NikeSKIMS partnership also illustrates how fashion momentum continues after a product launches.

A 2026 analysis from Social Life Magazine describes the partnership as a strategic combination of Nike’s performance capabilities and SKIMS‘ consumer-oriented aesthetic, arguing that the two brands address different strengths within the women’s activewear market. (Social Life Magazine)

Nike’s own product development provides more concrete evidence of this strategy.

In 2026, NikeSKIMS expanded its product offering with gym essentials, including new silhouettes and materials. The Spring ’26 collection introduced Matte Shine Mix, a material featuring quick-dry technology and mid-level compression. (Nike)

The brand then introduced Studio Stretch, a lightweight material innovation designed for studio workouts such as yoga and Pilates. Nike describes the material as combining light compression, stretch, softness, and Dri-FIT technology. (Nike)

This is where product development becomes especially visible.

The company is not simply changing colors or adding seasonal prints. It is developing different material systems around specific consumer activities and needs.

That is a more sophisticated approach to fashion product development because it treats material innovation as part of the consumer experience.

What SKIMS Demonstrates About the Movement of Fashion

SKIMS‘ evolution can be understood as a continuous product-development cycle:

Consumer need → Product innovation → Market response → Category expansion → New consumer expectations

The cycle begins with a consumer problem. SKIMS develops a solution. If the solution gains traction, the brand can use its consumer knowledge and infrastructure to enter adjacent categories. Those new categories expose the company to new consumer needs, restarting the process.

This is why SKIMS is a useful case study in the movement of fashion.

The company did not simply follow trends. It responded to shifts in how consumers think about their bodies, clothing, comfort, inclusivity, and the relationship between fashion and function. It then translated those shifts into products.

For fashion executives, the bigger lesson is to view product development as an ongoing relationship with the consumer, not a one-time design process.

The strongest brands don’t just ask, “What should we sell next?”

They ask:

What is changing about the consumer, and what product should exist because of that change?

SKIMS‘ movement from shapewear to a broader lifestyle brand, followed by its expansion into performance through NikeSKIMS, demonstrates the commercial potential of answering that question.

Fashion will keep moving between categories, cultures, and consumer expectations. Competitive advantage belongs to companies that recognize that movement early—and develop products that move with it.

References

Tashjian, R., & Scribner, H. (2023, October 30). Kim Kardashian’s Skims has a new partner—the NBA. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/fashion/2023/10/30/kim-kardashian-skims-nba/ 

Schulz, M. (2025, November 13). What is Skims’s secret recipe? Vogue Business. https://www.vogue.com/article/what-is-skimss-secret-recipe 

The Fashion Times. (2026). The rise of Skims: How Kim Kardashian built a billion-dollar shapewear empire.  https://www.fashiontimes.co.uk/skims-shapewear-lifestyle-empire-1758874

Israeli, A., Avery, J., & Schlesinger, L. A. (2023). The meteoric rise of Skims (Harvard Business School Case 524-023). Harvard Business School. https://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/product/524023-PDF-ENG 

SKIMS. (n.d.). About SKIMS. https://skims.com/pages/about 

Social Life Magazine. (2026). NikeSKIMS 2026: How Kim Kardashian conquered athletic wear.https://sociallifemagazine.com/the-archive/nikeskims-2026-kim-kardashian-nike-partnership-strategy/ 

Nike. (2025, February 18). NIKE, Inc. and SKIMS introduce new brand for women: NikeSKIMS. https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nikeskims-official-announcement